The Traffic Offenses Procedure Amendment and Validation Act 2015 became effective as of June 1st, 2017, and the City of Hamilton, in partnership with the police, embarked on an initiative that “will enforce the payment of parking tickets issued within the City limits.”

A spokespersons said, “The Traffic Offenses Procedure Amendment and Validation Act 2015 became effective as of June 1st, 2017. Accordingly, the City of Hamilton, in partnership with the Bermuda Police Service, has embarked on a new, joint initiative that will enforce the payment of parking tickets issued within the City limits. With additional resources in place, the City will now have a dedicated input system that will record all tickets issued by the traffic wardens on a daily basis.

“Tickets issued as of June 1st will carry a $75 penalty; those that are not paid within seven days will result in a summons, signed by a magistrate, issued to the registered owner of the offending vehicle resulting in a $100 penalty. Continued lack of payment will lead to court action that will carry a $150 penalty. Failure to appear in court will result in a warrant issued for the arrest of the owner of the vehicle.

“All tickets issued as of June 1st, 2017 will be input into the system and followed up on. There will be a short amnesty in the issuing of a summons up to July 14th after which those who have not paid their parking tickets can expect to receive a summons to appear in court. Tickets will not expire.

City of Hamilton Chief Operating Officer, Edward Benevides said, “The new partnership between the Corporation of Hamilton and the Bermuda Police Service has addressed the obstacles which were previously preventing any consistent recourse for persons failing to abide by the parking rules and regulations.

“Parking payment accounts for a substantial amount of the City’s income that feeds the annual budgets and allows us to complete capital projects and upgrades throughout the City. Without a robust budget, City infrastructure and improvements are gravely affected.

“The new partnership with the Bermuda Police Service will ensure that money owed to the City from violations will be paid and we can bring some law and order back to the City when it comes to parking. This should also be beneficial to City businesses, retailers and restaurants that rely on short-term parking for their customers.”

clearly both of you just woke up. there has been stuff in the news from end of last year and continued up to a couple of months ago. Not sure what that has to do with parking tickets which were before and after the other fiasco.

Seems to me the Corporation has been losing millions of dollars in unpaid parking fines under the old system mainly because of the inefficiency of the Court system. This new system will finally allow them to make revenue from parking by requiring anyone who parks in City car parks to pay up front so no need to chase after unpaid parking tickets.

For anyone not aware of it, in all cases where someone fails to pay the parking fee for parking in the city, and they go to court for failing to do so, then any fines paid go directly to Government – NOT the Corporation.

The next thing that would be great to see is an online website where any driver can log on and check the status of tickets for their vehicle, plus make payments there of. I think it would give drivers peace of mind that there are no outstanding tickets that they are unaware of. There also has to be a robust method of challenging any tickets, along with a quick turnaround of those issues. Hopefully the Corporation is also committed to doing that.

Law and order LOL How bout some thought to making it easier to pay to park in the city…so we don’t get tickets. I avoid town and parking lots without simple machines at all costs… Rich will pay and poor will continue to suffer in our already high cost society

To pay in cash you need exact change except at the few lots that take debit cards in which I will park with exception of overly complicated and prone to glicthes CH lot; EasyPark you pay to use and then reload unless you can afford 1000 in one go…not rich like you so prefer not to pay commission to use a device … mobile requires app so not easy for everyone. Some big cities – MANY big cities make it easier to pay and park, it’s the methods not the number of ways. Most big cities have free lots anyway for shoppers, except maybe city centres in NYC and ATL and Boston etc but then it’s so simple to park and pay. We should have both options for Bermudians. I say bring back scratch and sniff

Can’t blame the corporation for expecting people to actually obey the law. But the fact that parking is still a criminal offense in this day and age is ridiculous. This could lead to people being locked up. Surely if the govt can decriminalize cannabis we can do the same for parking and allow the corporation to go about the business civilly or at the very least connect outstanding fines to TCD licensing.

Been thinking the same, unpaid fines connected to a registration number automatically get added to your license fee plus whatever late fees. No way around not paying and less for the courts to worry about.

Not sure where Watcher gets the idea that parking illegally is a “criminal offence”. Last time I checked it was a “summary offence” that is dealt with in Magistrate’s Court along with numerous other minor traffic offences from driving with lights at night to driving with due care. It is possible to pay the parking fine without having to go to court, and it is only when the ticket is not paid that a summond is issued, and a warrant might be issued if the person faiuls to appear in court.

Good idea from Watcher though to connect outstanding fines with TCD licensing but the Corporation of Hamilton would have no authority to do so. That would be for Government to pass the necessary legislation.

you must be the same person as Truth seeker but never mind – the reason the Government cannot block TCD issuing any license for outstanding tickets is because the offense is already covered under the Traffic Offenses and Penalties Act, so any thing in addition would be double dipping and that’s a no no. Now I do not have the time to go into a lot of other information but the courts deal with civil or criminal issues. We know that it is not a civil issue as only the BPS can issue tickets and the fines and penalties are set in the act. If it is not civil by simple logic it must be criminal. Now many things are criminal and do not rise to the supreme court but are still a crime. A parking ticket or DUI still go to court one has a fixed penalty so you can avoid court the other doesn’t that won’t change what the facts are.

I’ve always had the impression there are generally three different classifications of offences in Bermuda – felonies, misdemeanours, and summary offences. I eagerly await any reference Glowstick Tracker can provide in our legislation that specifically defines parking offences as “crimes” or “Criminal”. I would also ask if the same applies to riding a pedal cycle without lights, without a bell, driving a car with the rear lights not working, or with a defective horn, driving with your seat belt not fastened, riding a motor cycle with a non-approved crash helmet, or any one of hundreds of minor traffic offences – none of which, to the best of my knowledge, are civil issues, but all of which could result in the issuing of a ticket. Are these really classed as “criminal” – and by whom?

I agree with double dipping being a no no, but it might be argued that if someone has committed traffic offences for which they have been convicted and fined, but they have failed to pay the fine and a warrant has been issued for non-payment, it would certainly make them sit up and take notice if TCD declined to renew their licence until the fine has been paid!

as requested : One proposed definition is that a crime or offence (or criminal offence) is an act harmful not only to some individual but also to a community, society or the state (“a public wrong”). Such acts are forbidden and punishable by law.

A summary offence is a crime in some common law jurisdictions that can be proceeded against summarily, without the right to a jury trial and/or indictment (required for an indictable offence).

Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It proscribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people. … It includes the punishment of people who violate these laws.

I was initially responding to a comment from Watcher who states, ” … the fact that parking is still a criminal offense in this day and age is ridiculous. This could lead to people being locked up.”

To the best of my knowledge illegal parking is not an arrestable offence and is no more ‘criminal’ than driving a car with a defective horn, or riding a pedal cycle at night-time with no front light.

Surely there is no power of arrest in Bermuda for an illegal parking offence or any of hundreds of minor traffic offences, many of which can be dealt with by paying a fixed penalty without having to go to court. The only reason someone could be arrested for a parking offence is if they fail to pay the penalty and subsequently either fail to appear in court or to pay a fine imposed by the Magistrate.

It is rather far-fetched to suggest that parking illegally is classed, or dealt with as a “criminal offence” in Bermuda. I would be rather surprised if the Police record parking offences as “criminal offences” in their criminal records system.

I could be wrong, but the arrest part comes in if you don’t pay the fine and/or don’t show up in court to plead your case. But you’re right, either way, it’s ridiculous. The “penalty” should be that when you go to re-new your license any unpaid fines are liable.

What about truck drivers who work for delivery companies? When it’s hard to find a parking spot or loading zones, will they be affected also? It’s ridiculous some days seeing cars in loading zones or sometimes you have so many trucks on the same street at once.

Good. Please ticket ALL vehicles parked in disabled bays that do not display a disabled tag. This happens all the time by either selfish (or just thoughtless) people and it severely restricts the very limited options available to those who legitimately need those spaces and have gone through the effort to register with City Hall.

I think that the parking ticket issue is very good to address. So I applaud this move. What I hate is that no matter where you are in Hamilton now you pay a fee to park. Great revenue for the City I suppose but I really really hate it and feel nickle and dimed to death!!!

My only question is does this apply to police vehicles marked or unmarked?? I notice they park in loading zones and the wardens ignore them. What’s good for the goose is very much good for the gender. The only way is everyone pays the same, the offending Officer should be made to pay just like the offending Company employee with no breaks

under the local laws the police vehicles are virtually immune to the various parking laws, including unmarked or event their personal vehicle if they are responding to a call. You should report any violations as they have to answer to their bosses that the choice was justified.

When will the COH do something about areas for truck loading/unloading/building service & adequate cycle parking, especially short term cycle parking?

It is absurd that you go into town on a bike, supposedly because it is easier to find parking, & you go round & round looking for somewhere to park. 5 people with 5 bikes take up the same street space as 1 person with 1 car.

Trucks need to come & go all day. How do you think restaurants get their food every day? A circling truck is wasting time & taking up space. The driver needs to be able to park near his delivery point.

In Bermuda a few handicapped spots are behind City Hall. How useful is that to the handicapped person when they are needing to get to a place on any of the streets? Have members of the COH never travelled & noticed that handicapped parking is always located somewhere convenient for handicapped people. Oh yes, the proper use of those handicapped spaces is ENFORCED. The handicapped person had better be IN that car when it is parked in that spot.

What exactly is the COH stating. Are they saying that they will assess a $100 penalty on default of payment and then if you don’t pay it they will assess an additional penalty plus court action. Sounds bizarre. According to the law a ticket issued by a police officer is payable within seven days or if not a summons is issued for a person to appear before a judge. Failure to appear will result in a warrant for your arrest. Failure to pay could land you in jail for 7 days. Where is it legislated that the COH can assess penalties? Are their two Bermuda’s.

I believe you will find that the The Traffic Offenses Procedure Amendment and Validation Act 2015 is an Act that has been passed by Parliament – not the COH. It applies Islandwide from Somerset to St. George’s. The COH does not assess penalties which are all laid down in the Act. Mr Benvides is simply explaining how it effects parking in Hamilton .

now if only we could target the double-parkers and the non handicappers that feel privileged to park in handicap bays and private vehicles that think they are trucks parking in loading zones. CoH debt would probably turn into a profit windfall ( help with the missing 18Mil )

Well …I was given a ticket for parking at resident permit holders area at diabetic association…picking up insulin… Permit holders and others consistently park in the bays set aside for diabetics…but never receive tickets…medicine is essential and must take presidency.The traffic warden that gave me the ticket ignore cars parked all day in diabetic spots …..so …well…I don’t wish to be unkind so I’ll leave that unsaid…but parking really should be provided to diabetic association. Don’t you think so ….it is like killing a fellow already on the ground.

We need to keep cars out of Hamilton and create incentives to use other means of transportation. Heaven forbid that we can’t flex in our chromed hyundais whilst sitting in east broadway traffic but something needs to be done to reduce the amount of traffic coming into town. The only solution is to charge a significant premium to long term parking in Hamilton for non residents applying to both public and private parking. A form of congestion charge in the region of USD 25 a day will be approximately the right amount to get people thinking about alternative means of traveling to work..

$1.50 or so, to park an hour on the streets of Hamilton, $5 all day at Bull,s Head; wow!! you should check out the price for parking downtown Toronto, New York and other major cities. “Pay your $2 and avoid $100, we have been getting away with too much”. ( too lazy to walk a few extra yards)

You wanna cut down on the amount of unpaid tickets? Stop writing so many unnecessary tickets just to generate revenue!! A truck parked on a double yellow just delivering goods for a few minutes is an unnecessary ticket especially when they are not obstructing any traffic flow. It’s a lack of sense from the person writing the ticket. Give me a break!